The rest of May was really catch as catch can. There were fun times and dull ones, days I did not make or find time to write a line and a few I covered in detail. So be warned it will be rambling, disjointed and somewhat sketchy for awhile. really mostly until mid June. There was one more weekend at home before I went down for the break between the regular spring term and the summer sessions but mostly I was in Flagstaff until the last Friday of May.
May 12, 1967
I had not planned or expected to do it but Dad and Charlie Mike came up and met me about 3:30 when I got out of my last class. We actually did not leave until later, and I did not explain why. Dad was doing something? I had dinner with Mary, and then went up to the depot with Charlie Mike, told him my latest and then we left about 7:30. Mrs Griffin, the house mother, was bit grumpy-not sure why-but no matter. I had to hear all about their "air raid" (what the heck was this? I have no memory! and wrote no details.) and "a bunch of other stuff." All the drama and disruption going on at the time. In the long run the unexpected change was okay and did not upset my schedule or plans much. We stayed up late that night talking,
So back to the prior weekend and the rest of this week. Saturday, May 6, I started the day munching toast and planned my day. It looked like pretty weather. I walked a bit, checked the rail yard and got an ice cream cone. Watched a movie on TV--Steve McQueen in Baby The Rain Must Fall.. Of course I was reminded of Dusty. Also finished reading Catcher In the Rye by J.D. Salinger. I said he really understood kids, not just the nice ones! That evening Mary got started packing and before we were done we'd packed about 75% of her stuff. Pat and Becky, two hall mates, drove us up to the bus station and we sent it off to Tucson.
Sunday I did laundry and went shopping, watched the rail and relaxed but did my accounting assignment for Monday to keep ahead. I checked Dr McFarlane's office and saw I got 81 on the History test but it was the highest grade--small consolation. I want a 1 in there! I started packing some Sunday while Mary was at church and was aghast how much junk I had. I should throw a lot more away! I have thrown away so much since the fall of 1965 but it still seems to grow.
Monday arrived and I said "Well, wasn't that a swingin' weekend?" In some ways it was. I got a mild sunburn trying to tan a bit inside the quad. Early Sunday night I woke with a bad case of cramps, not what I had wanted for sure. But in 48 hours I was all done for that round so no major issue. My normal schedule was 22-24 days but usually going no more than 40-48 hours. Except for the cramps, mostly painless. My system was definitely odd.
Then Tuesday came and up to a point it was a very routine day. I had the usual light T/TH class load and manged to walk to town to mail some things. After English I lay down for a short nap. There was a forest fire in Fort Valley and 75 NAU Forestry students went to fight it. Quick dinner, a phone call and at 6:30 I was sliding into Bluebird, a day earlier than I had expected. Dusty asked if I was hungry. When I said no, he got a tiny packet out of a shirt pocket and handed it to me. It was a little Kingman turquoise pendant, my birthday present. He knew what I liked. Then we drove, talked and ended up on the Cosnino cutoff where he parked. We talked for over an hour about the rail, the accident and much more. Finally he reached for me. We did not untangle until we separated to get in the back. Surprising what can you do in the back of a VW? I gave him my whole self, all I had. Tthat seemed very important this time especially. Later we talked more, making tentative future plans we began to feel were growing more real, He intended to have Johnny with him most of the summer. I liked that even if it would limit our visits. He was mostly ignoring the potential fallout from the accident but finally admitted he might be demoted to track or bridge inspector or back to lead carpenter. Firing seemed to be unlikely, the worst case. The familiar rattle of his breathing told me he was concerned though. He'd been better for awhile after the summer. It was week night curfew so we had to go back, too soon. It had been a special night though different from the one in early February.
Somehow the next two days passed. I had the letdown but too busy to dwell on it. Then is was Friday again. They are almost never as I expect or plan. That was especially rue the first year.
Photos this time! Two shots of that evening packing Mary's stuff. I didn't mean to pose but she grabbed my camera and click, click! She was amazed I was really a good packer--even standing on a box to get the flaps down! I managed my own by myself over a couple of evenings and then got it all down to Wilson Hall in a borrowed car before I left for the break. And last, my little pendant. Dainty and special--I liked Dusty's taste there! There will be a bit more on that gift a bit later.
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